1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fishing tackle, and more particularly to an automatically setting fishing hook assembly that has two separate hooks biased outwardly by a spring to facilitate setting the hook when a fish strikes.
2. Description of the Related Art
The experienced angler is well aware of the difficulty in setting a hook when catching a fish, and the ease with which a fish may sometimes slip the hook and escape after striking and taking the bait. It is for this reason that conventional hooks are provided with barbs, and that double and treble hooks are sometimes preferred for some types of fishing. Nevertheless, these hook improvements over the basic single, non-barbed hook still do not provide complete assurance of a successful catch after a strike.
As a result, various mechanical devices have been developed in the past to deploy multiple hooks when a fish strikes the hooks and bait. Most such devices aim to reduce the number of parts by forming the two hooks from a single length of wire, with a medial portion of the wire being coiled into a spring to urge the hooks outwardly from one another when a fish strikes and trips the device. Some others may use two separate lengths of wire to form the two hooks and a separate spring, but invariably the hook components must be manufactured with additional bends, intermediate eyes along their shanks, and/or some other non-standard configuration that complicates manufacture. Most of these automatically deploying hook assemblies also require relatively complex, multiple component mechanisms that are tripped when the fish strikes the hooks, thereby releasing the restrained hooks.
Thus, an automatically setting fishing hook assembly solving the aforementioned problems is desired.